Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Arrowverse or Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Comics, Marvel Comics or any characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises or anything else you may recognize.

With Natasha's help, Oliver was working out to recover from his encounter with the Dark Archer, while exercising was going smoothly, when he tried to practice his archery skills, he missed the tennis ball he tossed in the air.

"I guess he got into your head." Natasha said.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Until now you've been able to win but then you got taken down. It's hard to swallow, when there's someone out there better than you, isn't it?" Natasha pointed out as Oliver considered.

"How you doing? Rehab going good?" Diggle asked.

Oliver stared at Diggle briefly before speaking up. "Any news on Walter?"

"Nothing from my contacts." Natasha shook her head.

"My contact at the Bureau struck out, same with my guy at Interpol." Diggle shook his head. "They're both saying the same thing."

"Either my stepfather doesn't want to be found or someone doesn't want to be found." Oliver sighed.

"It's been six weeks, Oliver; no contact from the kidnappers, no ransom demand, no proof of life. I hate to sound…"

"Dig." Oliver interrupted him. "We know he's more than likely dead."

"What are you going to do?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know." Oliver sighed. "Even my contacts in the Bratva can't dig up a lead."

"I wasn't talking about Walter." Diggle picked the notebook from the table. "Back at fighting weight, looks like. And last I checked, there were more than a few names to cross off in this book."

"These people aren't going anywhere." Oliver said. "With Walter missing, my family needs me right now. And your leads on Kovar?"

"Mr. Steele was one of my suspects but with him gone… I guess I hit a dead end. I'm still checking his last known whereabouts." Natasha said.

Present, CNRI

"And Judge Hinkle is ready to grant them another continuance! So, I said, hell, no, this trial starts now." Joanna said happily.

"That a girl." Laurel praised.

"Thanks." Joanna said before Quentin entered, approaching Laurel.

"Dad." Laurel smiled. "What brings you by?"

"I need to talk to Jo." Quentin said seriously as Joanna turned to him.

"Is everything OK, Mr. Lance?" She asked.

"No." Quentin said grimly as Chief Raynes showed up behind him in full uniform.

"What's happening?" Laurel asked, not liking what was going on.

"No." Joanna said, in denial.

"Her brother Danny; he was killed on duty last night."

Joanna started to panic as Raynes and Laurel approached her, consoling her.

Queen Manor

Moira was in her room, looking at family photo as Oliver entered.

"Mom."

"Hey."

"I stopped by Big Belly Burger. I thought that maybe you and me and Thea could have some take-out, watch a DVD." Oliver offered optimistically.

"Thank you, sweetheart; I'm not very hungry." Moira declined.

Oliver nodded in understanding. "If you change your mind." He glanced to the next door as Moira nodded.

"I've seen that movie before." Thea said as Oliver pulled out a Blu-Ray from a box.

"Cut me some slack; I've been gone for awhile and apparently I missed the cinematic genius that is Zac… Galafinakis?"

"I mean with Mom, when you and Dad disappeared, she spent all the time at home; eventually, she stopped going out altogether." Thea explained.

"What snapped her out of it that time?" Oliver asked.

"Walter." Thea said simply, smiling. "One morning, he showed up and you know, when he gets all British and stern-like." She emphasized with British accent. "Moira, get dressed. We're going out for lunch." She smiled at the memory. "And I mean, it worked." Oliver considered. "You know, I've been thinking, maybe Walter wasn't abducted. Maybe he's having some mid-life crisis and he's with some stewardess in Bora Bora and he's too ashamed to call home and say that he's OK." Oliver turned to TV, still in thoughts. "Just because we haven't heard from him, doesn't mean that… he's gone, right?"

"Right." Oliver nodded before he and Thea watched the news report about the vigilante going missing.

Laurel's Apartment

Laurel and Tommy were in awkward stand-off about having a drawer when Joanna knocked on the door.

"I need your help." Joanna begged.

"Jo, come in." Laurel let her best friend into the apartment as she sat right in front of her and Tommy.

"I… don't think what happened to Danny was an accident, I think he might have been murdered."

Laurel took a breath. "Jo. Do you remember…" She paused, not wanting to say it. "When I lost Sara? I did all this research to try find an explanation for why the boat went down. I needed to believe that it wasn't just an accident."

"That's not what I'm doing, Laurel." Joanna denied, pulling out a folder from her bag. "I once handled a case in the Coroner's Office; he passed me a copy of the incident report." She passed the report to Laurel. "It said that Danny's turnout coat was doused in turpentine. But I checked and the plant owner said that there wasn't any in the factory." Laurel went over the report, conceding Joanna's point. "A turnout is supposed to withstand temperatures in excess of five hundred degrees. But the coroner said that the fire did not exceed two-hundred and fifty." Laurel glanced at Tommy, considering. "How did my brother burn hotter than the fire that supposedly killed him?" Laurel and Tommy looked at each other, then back at Jo, seeing her point.

SCPD

"Laurel, a fireman died fighting a fire." Quentin said as they walked back to his desk. "I'm not sure I see the crime."

"I did some digging." Laurel pressed on. "Last week, another firefighter, Leo Barnes, was killed in action, same circumstances. Traces of turpentine, and ignition temperatures hotter than the actual fire." They stopped at his desk. "Do you think that you could talk to the fire marshal? You know, encourage him to pursue this?"

"Well, the fire department has its own investigative unit." Quentin pointed out. "They don't answer to the police."

Kelton approached Quentin, handing him the Hood's burner phone. "Sorry it takes so long with the detectives. CSU's been really backed up."

"Well, did you find anything?" Quentin asked as Laurel observed.

"The only prints on it are yours, the tech inside is military grade. I can't even trace the manufacturer. Forensics-wise, it's a dead end."

Quentin sighed in frustration.

"Another case?" Laurel asked.

"Vigilante." Quentin answered, tossing the phone on his desk. "The phone belongs to him."

"Where'd you get it? I… does he answer?" Laurel asked as an idea formed in her head.

"Well, like Kelton said, it's a dead end." Quentin said as he grabbed his files from the desk. "Listen, kiddo, I feel for Jo and her family I really do, but, um, there's not a lot I can do this end." He quickly downed the rest of his coffee, then grabbed his keys and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I got to go. I love you." Quentin and Hilton left. Laurel looked at the phone as an idea clicked in her mind.

The Foundry

Oliver was exercising as his phone buzzed and he picked it up, scowling in surprise to hear Laurel's voice. "Hello? I need your help."

Later, Laurel's Apartment

Laurel was going over the files as the lights flickered and went off and she realized quickly what was going on as the Hood entered.

"I didn't trust you would come; no one's seen you in a while. Where have you been?" Laurel asked.

"You said it was important." The Hood said as he turned on his voice changer.

"My best friend's brother." Laurel explained as she showed the folder. "He died two days ago fighting a fire. The police and fire department say that he died in the line of duty but my friend thinks she was murdered."

"So you're asking one killer to find another." The Hood said and Laurel had the decency to look ashamed from how she had accused him of being a killer. "I heard what you said to your father about me; that I'm a killer. That I have no remorse."

"Do you?" Laurel asked hopefully as she held in her hand the folder. "Take a look at the file. If Danny de la Vega was murdered, then we have to bring his killer to justice."

The Hood approached Laurel, his face covered in shadow as he grabbed the file. "I'll look into it."

The Hood then left Laurel's apartment.

Later, the Foundry

"What is this?" Natasha asked as Oliver was looking into the file.

"Laurel gave it to me. The vigilante." Oliver explained and Natasha raised her brows.

"I thought you said you scared her…"

"She thinks somebody's killing firemen." Oliver interrupted her.

"I don't know, this seems more like the fire investigations department's job but it might be worth looking into." Natasha said as she went over the file.

"If you get any leads, tip the police." Oliver said.

"The police?" Natasha asked, perplexed. "Sounds like you've got a bit of a crisis of faith, Oliver." Oliver raised his brows as Natasha turned to him. "Look, Oliver, what I'm trying to say is, everyone gets taken down sometimes. It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down. It matters how many hits you can take and still get back up on your feet."

CNRI

"Can I talk to you, please?" Quentin asked as Laurel was talking with Jo and she followed him to the entrance. "Where is it?" He demanded.

"Where's what?" Laurel dodged.

"The phone." Quentin said harshly.

Laurel sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have."

"It's stolen evidence!" Quentin snapped. "Yeah, you probably shouldn't have! What are you…"

"I had to do something!" Laurel shot back.

"The man's a killer." Quentin scoffed.

"Then why did he give you his phone?"

"Give me the phone." Quentin dodged.

"He took it back." Laurel denied.

"You were with him?" Quentin stared in shock.

"When Sara died, if someone could have done something to give you even just a little bit of closure, don't you wish that they would have done it?" Laurel asked.

"If it meant breaking the law, lying to the people closest to them? No." Quentin snorted.

Queen Manor

Oliver and Moira were in an argument about taking over Queen Consolidated when Diggle showed up.

"Eyewitnesses place a '72 Ford pickup scene at the scene of Danny de la Vega's fire." Diggle explained as they walked down the hall.

"OK."

"Stagg Chemicals lit up ten minutes ago. I hacked into Stagg's video security feeds. Parked right on the street running along the plant?"

"Same pickup." Oliver realized.

"I got your gear in the car." Diggle said and sighed as Oliver stopped. "Oliver, by the time I get someone on the phone who will even listen to me, at least one of those firemen are going to be dead. They need the man in the hood."

Stagg Chemicals

A fireman was walking to the exit before another one whacked him in the head with the butt of his axe as the helmet fell off and he flipped over the railing, catching the rail with one hand as he tried to reach out and his attacker grabbed his other hand as the first one slipped. The firefighter looked at the man who had attacked him, in fear.

"Who are you?!"

The Hood jumped down and slid down the pillar, too late to the rescue as he attacked the murderer, engaging him but was knocked down on the floor as the man pulled out some small device that beeped and the Hood noticed a firefly tattoo on his burned hand. The man was about to drop the device before Natasha knocked him out from behind.

Later, the Foundry

"Are you alright, Oliver?" Natasha asked as she patched Oliver up.

"I'm fine." Oliver dodged.

"Didn't seem that way from where I watched." Natasha pointed out.

"I'm fine." Oliver retorted and Natasha attempted to punch him but Oliver blocked and grabbed her by her arm but she anticipated the move as she pinned him to the desk and Oliver replied by quick turn as Natasha was on the desk instead of him as he let her go.

"What did that prove?" Oliver growled as Natasha got up.

"That your problem is psychological, not physical." Natasha said.

"I never said I…"

"You didn't have to say anything." Natasha said.

Oliver took a breath. "It's just that… I've been close to death… on the island, more time than I can remember and I never feared it because I had nothing to lose. But when that archer almost killed me… when I stared death in the face then, I thought of all the people who I'd let into my life since I've been back. You… my family… Laurel… Tommy… and that made me afraid. Afraid of what would happen to those people if they lost me. Again. And for the first time in so long, I had something to lose."

"You really believe that letting someone in is taking away your edge?" Natasha asked rhetorically. "One thing I've learned, the more people you have close to you, the more you have to live and fight for. And that's what makes us stronger."

Oliver considered before turning to the computer.

"Well, at least we caught the guy. It was Garfield Lynns. A fireman. Presumed dead." Oliver said.

"At least now he gets the help he needs." Natasha said as she looked at the file. "Poor man."

Oliver smiled as he turned to her. "Thanks, Nat."

"You don't need to thank me." Natasha said.

"No… it's just that… it's been a while since I've let someone in like that and… I'm trying. But it's not easy." Oliver said.

"No one said it would ever be." Natasha said as she held his hand as they smiled at each other.

SCPD

"We good?" Quentin asked Kelton after handing Laurel the Hood's cellphone.

"I got a strong signal from crystal VHF transmitter you hid in the speaker and it can't be backtraced."

"Talk to me like I'm a third-grader, please." Quentin grumbled.

"Next time your daughter calls the vigilante, we'll be able to listen to every word." Kelton promised.

Elsewhere in Starling City

A man around 30 years old with short beard was walking out from the airport, with a duffel bag as he dialed a number from his phone.

"I'm here. Who's the target?"

An image of Natasha appeared on his phone before the man spoke up again. "Usually I take more direct approach."

"Don't kill her. Not yet. Find out what she knows. If she gets too close, take her out, Mr. Russo."

"Understood." The man said as he hung up.

If you're familiar with The Punisher TV series, you know who it is but let's just say the events of the show have not happened yet and if I'm correct, Billy Russo was a PMC and hired gun, so it wouldn't surprise me if someone would hire him like a hitman.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.